Email id for Meerut’s aggrieved journos to file plaint

Meerut: A month after the Uttar Pradesh government announced a helpline for aggrieved journalists, the Meerut district magistrate has ordered the setting up of a new email id on which journalists can inform the district administration of any threats or harassment they face.
“Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and the problems of mediapersons should be dealt with on a priority basis.I have directed that an email id be set up at which journalists can inform the district administration if they are threatened,” said district magistrate Pankaj Yadav, talking to TOI.
A Facebook page should also be made for this purpose and the grievances submitted by the scribes will be solved at meetings held every 10 days, Yadav added.
“A district-level permanent committee for journalists has been made. Under this committee, all the problems of the journalists will be taken care of,” said Naval Kant Tiwari, deputy director, information, Meerut district. Members of this committee will include the district magistrate, SSP Meerut, four recognized journalists and the district information officer. “Grievances of journalists and allegations of harassment by police will be looked into,” said Tiwari.
Meanwhile, repeated incidents of attacks on journalists has forced the state government to plan a helpline for them. As per National Crime Records Bureau statistics, the state accounted for 72% of the total number of crimes committed against journalists in 2014. Not a single person has been arrested for these attacks, according to data tabled in Parliament.